-Marco Estrada hasn't really been all that great this season and has been especially bad recently. In his last start he got torched by the Cardinals only going 3.1 innings, giving up eight runs on six hits and walked five.

-Estrada faced the Pirates when these two teams met two weeks ago and while the Pirtes lost the game they were able to get to him as he went five innings and gave up five runs on seven hits.

-A.J. Burnett has been really good for most, if not all, the season and he is coming off a start where he went seven innings and gave up two runs on two hits and struck out nine against Seattle. He went up against Felix Hernandez. Estrade is not Hernandez. Burnett did not face the Brewers the last time these two teams met.

-Ryan Braun and Rickie Weeks are out of the lineup today. For as much as the Brewers have struggled recently this is good news for Pirates fans because they own the Pirates.

-The Brewers are 1-9 in their last ten games where they have been outscored 64-35.